Building https://nitter.gq/t.co/x7doGuctUP, https://nitter.gq/t.co/uc9d7J9GXX & https://nitter.gq/t.co/vG9b6xiUSw
Joined March 2018
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I made a prayer lock app for Hindus.
I made an app that locks your apps behind Bhagavad Gita verses.
144 pickups. 7+ hours of screen time. 0 shlokas. That was me. Every day.
Tried Screen Time limits, bypassed in 3 seconds. Tried willpower, doesn't survive past 11pm.
So I stopped fighting the habit and redirected it.
MantraLock uses Apple's Screen Time API to actually block your apps. Not a timer you can dismiss. Not a reminder you can swipe away. A real lock.
2 minutes of sadhana before every scroll. That's it.
Christians have 6+ prayer lock apps. Muslims have 6+. Hindus had 0.
Not anymore.
mantralock.app
mantralock (prayer lock app for hindus) month 2:
→ 1112 users
→ $94 revenue
→ $29 MRR
→ at 90th build now
making indians pay is final boss distribution
experimented a lot with the onboarding, freemium vs hard paywall. here's what's working so far ⬇️
Distribution:
1) Tried TikTok ads (but the audience app is Indians/Hindus so nuked some money)
2) Instagram influencers and niche pages - good for downloads but Indians hesitate to pay.
3) Meta ads (targeted outside India) - best downloads and conversion
My take on why apps for India is more challenging.
But giving up was never an option.
nitter.gq/reallyaaryan/status/20…
india is a low trust society
hard paywalls (even with free trials) don't work in India
India relies on UPI.
outside India people rely heavily on cards for all purchases - food, travel, and everything.
so approving an in app card transaction is comes as a natural move for them
in india - if someone offers something for free we start think of ways in which they are trying to fuck us over
so now mantralock.app has a free trial with 0 payment upfront.
what works in the west just won't work anywhere. that's why I've made the attempt to hyperlocalize mantralock.
10 local languages, onboarding, payments everything catering to an indian persona.
trust must be earned.
know your strengths and double down on them
ego will come in the way to make friends with your weakness
but there is limited time friend, it's double or nothing
go hard on your strengths, there is a bliss in accepting the weaknesses
india is a low trust society
hard paywalls (even with free trials) don't work in India
India relies on UPI.
outside India people rely heavily on cards for all purchases - food, travel, and everything.
so approving an in app card transaction is comes as a natural move for them
in india - if someone offers something for free we start think of ways in which they are trying to fuck us over
so now mantralock.app has a free trial with 0 payment upfront.
what works in the west just won't work anywhere. that's why I've made the attempt to hyperlocalize mantralock.
10 local languages, onboarding, payments everything catering to an indian persona.
trust must be earned.
mantralock month 1:
→ 311 users
→ $114 revenue
→ blown 200$ in marketing (meta +tiktok ads + influencers)
→ 61 builds
just optimised the onboarding+payment+experience once again. keep iterating, there's no perfect.
